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LONDON AIR LINK OR LOSE OUT
CITY Council
leader Warren Bradley is urging people to support the city’s air
link with London amid fears it could be abandoned altogether.
The VLM flight between John Lennon and London City airports has not
taken off with the public and the airline is to close its Liverpool
office at the beginning of March.
Now Cllr Bradley, Liverpool’s champion for business is warning that
Liverpool could miss out in the future if this service is not used.
The Belgian airline which originally ran the service 5 times a day,
reduced its operation to 2 flights a day last month.
Cllr Bradley believes
that the air link must be sustained if the city is to prosper:-
“Liverpool’s GVA is outstripping every other north west area and
we are powering ahead economically. Therefore, to my mind, it
is vital that Liverpool has a direct air link to and from London if
we are to attract more jobs and investment. We want to sell our city
to the world, a truly international place once again, looking
outwards, and a well used link to our own capital city is a must.”
He adds:- “A fast commuter route to the heart of
London in under two hours is incredibly valuable and also makes it
easy for business people and tourists to travel to and from
Liverpool. I urge business leaders to support VLM instead of
alternative train services. We spent a long time campaigning for
this link and VLM showed confidence in this city by launching the
service. It is essential we repay their faith by making the most of
it."
Cllr Bradley further believes that the significance of the
Liverpool/London airlink will be found during the next 18 months
when the city celebrates its 800th birthday and welcomes Europe to
capital of culture events in 2008. And the chief executive of
Business Liverpool, Mike Taylor has added his weight to the
increasing importance of the air link. He said:- “While
at this moment the existing VLM service may well be viewed by the
airline as uneconomic, we have some major drivers about to come ‘on
stream’ in Liverpool, which will add significant ‘real’
demand to the London/Liverpool service. I believe we should
all be working more closely with VLM to ensure that this additional
demand is understood, evaluated and anticipated so that a long term,
sustainable, high frequency service can be secured.”
The key economic drivers cited by both Cllr Bradley and Mike Taylor
include: Liverpool One – 1.6m sq ft of new retail in the City, the
new Arena and Convention Centre at King’s Dock, 1m sq ft of new
grade ‘A’ office accommodation in the commercial district, a science
park with 240,000 sq ft of new floor space, a cruise liner facility
opening this Spring as well as more than 2000 additional hotel beds
to meet the demand created by Liverpool’s status of capital of
culture next year. |
PAYMENTCARE.CO.UK
SLAMS LENDERS FOR HIGH PRESSURE AND UNFAIR SALES TACTICS
THE Office of
Fair Trading’s decision to refer the payment protection
insurance (PPI) market to the Competition Commission (CC) for ‘further
investigation’ is a positive initiative, delivering a
much-needed wake up call to High Street lenders, according to
independent PPI provider Paymentcare.co.uk.
“Banks and lenders have hijacked PPI as a cash cow to generate
huge profits by charging consumers over-inflated premiums.
The
announcement by the OFT underlines the fact that consumers get a
poor deal, a situation which is exacerbated by the acknowledged lack
of competition.” said Paymentcare.co.uk managing director Shane Craig.
But genuine low-cost insurance is important for millions of people
with borrowing commitments.
“It’s essential that consumers are made aware that there is an
affordable alternative and that PPI doesn’t have to be bought along
with a loan, store or credit card,” he added.
“People no longer believe they have to buy travel insurance along
with the holiday for example - they go online and find a great deal
– well, PPI is just the same.“
Paymentcare.co.uk has long campaigned for the Office of Fair Trading
move, and has been involved in discussions with the watchdog for
many months.
“When people realise that they have been paying way over the
odds for policies that may have been useless in the event of a
claim, I believe we will see a stampede to claim compensation,”
said Craig. “That said, debt levels in the UK are
precariously high – shaking consumers’ faith in a product that can
provide genuine help in times of need must be avoided at all costs.”
Customers can apply online for instant cover at
www.paymentcare.co.uk.
Help raise money for mural for the children's ward
ANYONE who has
had to visit the children's ward at Ormskirk & District General
Hospital will know that although the corridor to the ward is very
clean and bright, it is also very plain. Hopefully it won't be for
much longer as the children's charity Mediquip for Kids has donated
a substantial amount towards the painting of a mural by local artist
Clare Wright. But staff are still having to raise £2,000 towards the
cost.
The mural will be based on the Wizard of Oz so children who have to
go to the ward will be able to 'follow the yellow brick road'
to the ward.
To raise money staff have been holding a raffle on the ward to win
pieces of Clare's art and tickets are also now on sale at Rennies
Arts in Ormskirk and Dawson Flowers in Moss Delph Lane, Aughton. The
prizes for the raffle are two original works of art by Clare and a
30% discount voucher for Clare's work. The draw will take place on 2
March 2007. |
